Boy Meets World cast (left to right) Matthew Lawrence, Trina McGee, Ben Savage, Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, Maitland Ward and Rider Strong in 1999.
Boy Meets World cast (left to right) Matthew Lawrence, Trina McGee, Ben Savage, Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, Maitland Ward and Rider Strong in 1999.
An actress who starred in a popular ‘90s TV series has revealed her health battle.
Danielle Fishel, a star of the popular ‘90s sitcom Boy Meets World, has announced she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
The 43-year-old candidly revealed her diagnosis during the most recent episode of her podcast Pod Meets World, which was publicly released on Monday, August 19.
The mum-of-two shared she was recently diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), an early form of breast cancer. As per Johns Hopkins Medicine, DCIS is a condition that affects the cells lining the milk ducts, turning them malignant, or cancerous. However, the cells remain in place – also known as ‘in situ’.
Speaking alongside her co-hosts and former Boy Meets World co-stars Rider Strong and Will Friedle - who played Shawn Hunter and Eric Matthews on the sitcom, respectively - Fishel assured fans the cancer was “technically stage zero”.
“It is very, very, very early. It’s technically stage zero,” she said. “I was diagnosed with high-grade DCIS with micro invasion. And I’m going to be fine, I’m having surgery to remove it.”
She added that she is also undergoing “some follow-up treatment”.
Boy Meets World stars Maitland Ward, Danielle Fishel and Trina McGee.
Fishel explained she was able to detect the cancer early as she had scheduled her mammogram appointment the very same day she received her annual reminder.
“For some reason I had always thought [if I were diagnosed with cancer] I would suffer in silence. I would get the diagnosis, I would not tell anyone,” she continued. “I would tell only my small group and then I would just suck it up. And then when I’m on the other side of it then I would tell people.
“But the place you have the most to learn from is that at the very beginning of a story or in the very messy middle of a story. My first instinct when I was diagnosed was to do that clam up thing… and then what I realised is the more people I talk to, the more people have their own experiences.”
Fishel added that her appearances on the podcast may be put on “hold” as she undergoes treatment.
She also encouraged listeners to undergo regular screenings and check-ups to better their chances of catching cancer at an early and more easily treatable stage.
“The fact that I am good about going to my doctor’s appointments when, truthfully, it would be so much easier with as busy as I am… it would be so easy to say, ‘I don’t have time for that. I went to my mammogram last year, I was fine…’ And I didn’t… and they found it so early that I’m going to be fine.”
Fishel was cast as Topanga Lawrence, the love interest, friend and classmate of Cory Matthews, the series’ protagonist. Fishel and Ben Savage, the actor who plays Matthews, reprised their roles for the spin-off series Girl Meets World in 2014, which picks up nearly 15 years after the end of the original series.
The sequel’s premise revolved around Cory and Topanga’s daughter, Riley, as she navigates the challenges of adolescence alongside her best friend Maya, played by now-pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter. The series ended after three seasons in 2017.
In July, it was revealed actress Shannen Doherty - star of Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed - had died aged 53 after a lengthy battle with stage 4 breast cancer.
